Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Smoothing Out Data Series.

Smoothing Out Data Series

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 14, 2023)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


When you are creating line charts in Excel, the lines drawn between data points tend to be very straight. (This makes sense; the lines are meant to connect the points.) You can give your graphs a more professional look by simply smoothing out the curves Excel uses at each data point. Follow these steps:

  1. In your chart, right-click on the data series that you want to smooth. Excel displays a Context menu.
  2. Choose Format Data Series from the Context menu. Excel displays the Format Data Series dialog box.
  3. Make sure the Patterns tab is displayed. (See Figure 1.)
  4. Figure 1. The Patterns tab of the Format Data Series dialog box.

  5. Select the Smoothed Line check box. (If the check box is not visible, it means you are not working with a line chart. Only lines in a line chart can be smoothed.)
  6. Click on OK.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (3194) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Smoothing Out Data Series.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Changing Directories in a Macro

Need to specify which directory on your hard drive should be used by a macro? It's easy to do using the ChDir command.

Discover More

Finding the Number of Significant Digits

When looking at a number, you may wonder how many significant digits it contains. The answer is not always an easy one, ...

Discover More

Highlighting Duplicate Words

One way to help improve your writing is to minimize the number of duplicated words you use in your prose. Depending on ...

Discover More

Excel Smarts for Beginners! Featuring the friendly and trusted For Dummies style, this popular guide shows beginners how to get up and running with Excel while also helping more experienced users get comfortable with the newest features. Check out Excel 2019 For Dummies today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Turning the Legend On and Off

When you create a chart in Excel, the program may automatically add a legend that explains the contents of the chart. In ...

Discover More

Selecting Fonts for a Chart

When formatting a chart, you might want to change the characteristics of the font used in various chart elements. This ...

Discover More

Adjusting Your View of 3-D Graphs

Do you use Excel's charting capabilities to display three-dimensional views of your data? The program provides a way that ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 8 + 2?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.